Kickin' to Hester? Kiffin not kiddin'

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 8, 2007 | by Steve Corkran

ALAMEDA -- The question was posed to Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher on Wednesday morning: Are you excited about the prospect of the Raiders kicking to Devin Hester on Sunday?

Urlacher interrupted the questioner midsentence.

"Serious?" Urlacher shot back. "Punts and kickoffs?"

Sure thing, Brian. Raiders coach Lane Kiffin told the Chicago- area media in a conference call Wednesday that he intends to let kicker Sebastian Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler go about their business, even though one of the league's most dangerous returners will be at the receiving end.

It remains to be seen whether Kiffin threw out that salacious tidbit just so that the Chicago-area media can have some fun with it all week. For history shows that messing with Hester is akin to throwing lit matches into a gas-filled room.

By now, everyone knows it's only a matter of time before Hester explodes into the open field with a punt or kickoff and makes you ask, "What were we thinking?"

Hester is in only his second NFL season, yet he already has people anointing him the best return man in the league's long history. At his current pace, it won't be long before the statistics leave no doubt.Hester has nine returns for touchdowns in 24 NFL games, including one in the Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts. Tack on one more for the missed field goal he returned for a touchdown last season. All except one of his returns exceeded 72 yards. Overall, they averaged 86.1 yards.

His nine regular-season special teams returns for touchdowns are tied for fourth all-time, behind only 13 by Brian Mitchell, and 12 by Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf. Also, his 23.5-yard punt return average this season is the highest in 55 years.

"It is going to be a tremendous test for us this week, with maybe the best returner ever to play the game," Kiffin said. "So we're going to have to be on it. I really like the timing of it. I like the fact that we've been playing really well, and now here we go with our best test right here. So we can see how far we've come along."

Raiders kick-coverage specialist Jarrod Cooper said Kiffin is doing the right thing by challenging Hester head-on.

"I'm glad because I would've been mad at him if he said, 'Hey, I don't think you guys can do it. I'm not kicking it to him,'" Cooper said.

A call to Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli might change Kiffin's thinking. Marinelli felt the same way about his coverage teams before a game against the Bears on Sept. 30.

So it was that Hester amassed 314 return yards on kickoffs and punts that day -- 11 yards more than the Bears' offense had -- including one that he returned for a touchdown.

Marinelli's take on Hester changed before the teams' rematch Oct. 28. Not that Marinelli didn't have a plan in mind.

"Kick the ball into Lake Michigan and make sure it (sinks) to the bottom," Marinelli said of his team's plan that day.

Two things the Raiders have working for them that other teams don't are the strength of their kickers' legs.

Janikowski leads the league with 18 touchbacks, and Lechler's 50.3-yard gross average and 43.9-yard net average top all punters.

Still, Hester isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill returner. Does Kiffin know something few others do, is he messing with Hester and the Bears, or is he that confident in his coverage teams?

"It's no fun to kick it out of bounds," Kiffin told the Chicago- area media, "so we're going to see how well we can cover."

That's easier said than done, Cooper admitted.

"He sees his moves before they happen," Cooper said. "He catches the ball and as soon as he catches it, he's gone. If you hesitate for a minute, you're going to be watching him and getting his autograph after the game.

Containing Hester once entailed only doing so on punt returns. Then Bears coach Lovie Smith incorporated Hester into kick returns midseason last year, and this year he is using Hester at wide receiver.

Hester has six receptions for 144 yards and one touchdown as a receiver. However, his playing time on offense has increased in recent games. He became the third player in NFL history with touchdowns of 80 yards or longer on a reception and a return in the same game, against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 14.

Hester entered the league as a cornerback selected in the second round of the NFL draft out of the University of Miami. He fought the conversion to receiver until offseason workouts started this year.

"Things are going good," Hester told the Chicago Sun Times last week, "but it can only get better with the more practice I put into it. Whenever you get an opportunity to go out and get more reps, that's the key to success. Each game, the repetitions, I've gotten a little bit more. I feel like that's going to better me as well as the team."

Bears receivers coach Darryl Drake said it's incumbent upon the coaches to maximize Hester's many talents.

"He's picking it up great, better than I ever imagined," Drake told the Sun Times. "His packages expand every week. The thing you didn't want to do is throw everything at him at once. First and foremost, his deal is as a returner. If they're not going to kick it to him, we've got to get it to him more and more as a receiver."